iPhone 5 Rumored to Feature Larger Screen

Apple's iPhone 5 will feature a 4.6-inch screen, according to one new report. However, other sources moved quickly to undermine that rumor.

Now that the new iPad is on store shelves across the
country, attention is inevitably turning to the next Apple product waiting in the
wings: the so-called iPhone 5.
Long a target of rampant speculation, despite a near-total
lack of verifiable details, that next-generation device has been tagged iPhone
5 by pundits and media. Whether Apple picks that as the official name remains
to be seen, although the companys refusal to name the new iPad something like
iPad HD or iPad 3 makes it a bit more unlikely that the next iPhone will
come with any sort of moniker whatsoever.

Amid that speculation comes a March 21 report from Reuters
that the next iPhone will feature a 4.6-inch Retina Display and will launch
in the second quarter of 2012. The news service drew that information from
South Korean media, specifically the Maeil Business Newspaper, itself quoting
an unnamed industry source.

Across the Web, various tech luminaries voiced skepticism at
the prospect of an iPhone screen that large. No one seems to be pointing out
that if its true, this new iPhone would need way more pixels than the current
960 x 640 iPhone display, John Gruber wrote on his blog Daring Fireball. That means every app in
the App Store would need to be redesigned/resized.
Meanwhile, tech blog Gizmodo is arguing a total lack of need
for Apple to resize something thats met with praise from customers and many
reviewers. Theres just something optimal about 3.5 inches, blogger Sam
Biddle argued in a
March 22 posting. We know it, and Apple knows it. For a company with such
a monastic dedication to consistency, this isnt a factor the company is likely
to start screwing with.
That being said, this isnt the first time that rumors of a
bigger screen have leaked onto the Internet. In January, Apple-centric blog 9to5Mac
reported that the iPhone 5 would feature a larger display and redesigned
casing. That report cited a reliable source at Foxconn in China, referring to
the factory where iPhones are made.
Over the summer of 2011, analysts and pundits seemed certain
the company would release an iPhone 5 with a radically altered design and
powerful new hardware. In October, however, Apple executives unveiled the
iPhone 4S, whose exterior seemed virtually identical to that of the iPhone 4.
Despite that similarity, a collection of new featuresincluding Siri, a
voice-activated digital personal assistantquickly helped the new smartphone
become a bestseller.
Other
rumors have suggested the next iPhone will support 4G Long-Term Evolution
(LTE) connectivity, something that seems more likely now that Apples released
an iPad with 4G support.
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Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.